May 27, 2015 “Prayer Anemia”

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3: 20-21)

Good Morning Prayer Warriors!

When I was little, I can recall more than one occasion where I would get into a rather animated debate with a classmate comparing the prowess of my daddy in comparison with the other person’s daddy. It usually went something like this: “My daddy is a great bowler. He won a patch just the other day”. Then came the retort “Well my daddy won a trophy and that’s better than a patch.” Then it was…”Well my dad’s team beat your dad’s team yesterday.” And then came the inevitable, “Oh yeah?” Yeah! ” Eventually the debate ended to be picked up on another day…next time involving some other achievement or competition. Truth be told, my dad was not, in fact, the greatest bowler… he wasn’t the world’s greatest athlete or the best looking dad (by other’s standards at least), even though he was all that and considerably more in my mind. Like all of us, he had his limitations, but he was my dad and in my eyes the greatest.

I find it somewhat puzzling that those of us who grew up believing that our earthly fathers were just about the greatest at everything are more hesitant regarding our opinion of our Heavenly Father, who truly IS the greatest at everything, this being demonstrated by a condition I call “prayer anemia”. At times when we pray, it is more out of a sense of hopelessness than it is of belief in God’s limitless ability. We pray not really believing that our particular situation can be changed, even by God. We limit God’s ability in our hearts, and perhaps even “downsize” our prayers so they may be more likely to be answered. Andrew Murray offers this advice when it comes to limiting God’s ability to answer prayer:

“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.”

He suggests that we have already predetermined what God’s response or ability may be to our particular prayer, so we do not pray truly believing. We don’t “pray big enough.” Reread the passage above from Ephesians… “to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Meditate upon it. It is a fantastic testimony to God’s greatness and God’s ability. As you get ready to pray, let the reality of those words sink in…God can do anything! How much can you imagine? God can exceed even your wildest imaginings! What are your dreams? The God who created all things inspires those dreams and can turn them to realities. Beware of “prayer anemia.” He is limitless …”Perfect in power, in love, and purity!” Let’s pray!

Awesome Lord; How great You are! How magnificent are Your works! Why would we ever doubt You or limit You in our hearts and minds? expand our understanding of your care for us, Lord, that we would confidently come before you with our deepest longings, our wildest imaginings, our most -yearned- for dreams. It is with deepest praise that we make our prayers this day in the Name above every Name, Jesus Christ our Lord, God, Savior, and King. Amen!